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Dr Elizabeth Baird, specialist dermatologist at Remuera Dermatology, gives information on the risks of melanoma and other skin cancers in New Zealand compared with elsewhere. DR ELIZABETH BAIRDThe risk of melanoma in New Zealand is significantly worse than the risk of melanoma in Western Europe.
More than two-thirds of the Australian and New Zealand pakeha population will develop a skin cancer of some kind during their lives.
As a skin lesion is likely to increase in size and depth, the cancer should be treated promptly. Auckand NZ plastic surgeon Murray Beagley specialises in skin cancer surgery and treatment. Plastic Surgery Auckland is an Affiliated Provider to Southern Cross Health Society for skin cancer diagnosis and skin cancer treatment. A recent study conducted by international scientists has revealed that that turkey tailed mushrooms are highly effective in fighting prostate cancer. The scientists of the study said that during the experiment, the turkey tail mushroom proved 100% effective in curing prostate cancer in mouse.
During the study, it was found that compound polysaccharopeptide, extracted from the turkey tail mushroom, targets the prostate cancer stem cells and suppress tumor formation. It is believe that if the same experiments prove successful on human body then it will save lives of about 35,000 men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK each year. The Skin Specialist Centre is one of New Zealand's leading cosmetic skin specialists especially in the field of laser therapy. Choose your area of interest above and then select on of the following options to find out which one is best for you. Cancer was the second most common cause of death, exceeded only by cardiovascular diseases. Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death among males (4,934 deaths), followed by prostate cancer (3,235), bowel cancer (2,205), pancreatic cancer (1,233) and cancer of unknown primary site (1,167). The most common cancers causing death in females were lung cancer (3,165 deaths), breast cancer (2,840), bowel cancer (1,777), pancreatic cancer (1,201) and cancer of unknown primary site (1,113). The age-standardised mortality rate for all cancers combined was 174 per 100,000, a fall of 17% from 1991 (210 per 100,000). The risk of a person in the general population dying from cancer before the age of 85 was 1 in 4 for males and 1 in 6 for females.
In this report, mortality refers to the number of deaths for which the underlying cause was a primary cancer.
The main data source used in this chapter was the AIHW National Mortality Database, which contains information about all deaths registered in Australia (see Appendix I for more information). Data on mortality from cancer are based on the year of occurrence of death, except in 2010 (the latest year for which mortality data are available), where the year of registration of death is used. Cancer accounted for about 3 of every 10 deaths (30%) registered in Australia in 2010 (Table 3.1). The rates were standardised to the Australian population as at 30 June 2001 and are expressed per 100,000 population. In 2010, lung cancer (8,099 deaths), bowel cancer (3,982), prostate cancer (3,235), breast cancer (2,864) and pancreatic cancer (2,434) were the most common causes of cancer death. Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death among Australian males, with 4,934 deaths in 2010. Lung cancer was also the most common cause of cancer deaths in females in 2010 (3,165 deaths). In 2010, the risk of dying from cancer before the age of 75 years was 1 in 8 for males and 1 in 12 for females.
In this section, trends in mortality from all cancers combined and selected cancer sites are presented from 1991 to 2010. In contrast, there was a statistically significant decrease in the age-standardised mortality rate. For males, after the mortality rate reached a peak in 1994, it fell by 22% over the period to 2010 (from 284 to 222 per 100,000) (Figure 3.2). The cancer mortality rate for females was consistently lower than that of males throughout the 20 years considered. Mortality data for 2009 and 2010 are revised and preliminary, respectively, and are subject to further revision.
Figure 3.3 summaries the percentage change in age-standardised mortality rates between 1991 and 2010 for selected cancers. More information about the trends in the mortality rates of lung cancer, bowel cancer prostate cancer and breast cancer in females is provided in the following section. The percentage change from 1991 to 2010 is a summary measure that allows the use of a single number to describe the change over a period of multiple years.
Cancers labelled with an asterisk (*) indicate changes that were statistically significant.
Trends in the age-standardised mortality rates of lung cancer differ starkly for males and females.

The different patterns of mortality rates for males and females may reflect the historical differences in smoking behaviour described earlier (see Chapter 2). The age-standardised mortality rate of bowel cancer decreased for males and females (Figure 3.5). The age-standardised mortality rate of prostate cancer rose until 1993, where it peaked at 44 per 100,000 (Figure 3.6). The fall partly due to early detection of prostate cancer cases by prostate-specific antigen testing. Figure 3.6 shows that the age-standardised mortality rate of breast cancer in females remained fairly stable throughout the early 1990s (29 to 31 per 100,000).
Data on deaths of persons from all cancers combined for different regions and countries are shown in Figure 3.7. The age-standardised mortality rate for cancer varied considerably between countries and regions. The data were estimated for 2008 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and are based on data from about 3 to 5 years earlier. The confidence intervals are approximations and were calculated by the AIHW (see Appendix H). Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) is a slow-growing cancer of blood cells called lymphocytes. Many people never need treatment for this condition but need regular blood tests and monitoring by their GPs.
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) can happen in children and teenagers, but is more common in adults. There are many different types of lymphomas, but they are all in one of two groups: Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
International Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia FoundationInformation about this rare form of lymphoma. National Cancer Institute (USA)LeukemiaIn-depth information about leukaemia, including statistics, research, and clinical trials. LymphomaIn-depth information about lymphoma, including statistics, research, and clinical trials. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (USA)Information and resources about the different types of leukaemia and lymphoma. Some studies would suggest in Western Europe that your cumulative risk was one in 70 of developing a melanoma. It usually occurs in people who have been exposed to too much UV (ultraviolet) light from the sun.
The reason is that most are fair skinned and skin cancer occurs more frequently in this group.
People older than 40 are at greatest risk, however, in recent years more young adults and even teenagers have been diagnosed with skin cancer related to over-exposure to the sun.
Skin cancer can be just as life threatening as any other cancer if treatment is not undertaken.
The complete 'Treatment of Skin Cancer' pamphlet is available from your plastic surgeon Mr Beagley at your consultation. The scientists believe those mushrooms are an effective cure of cancer as they don’t produce any side effects upon the patient. The fruit body of the turkey tail mushroom contains very low level of the anti-cancer PSP so the main source is actually from the mycelia. It is important to remember that not all skin cancers are the same and every patient is unique. The cancer that led to the death of the person may have been diagnosed many years previously, in the same year in which the person died or, in some cases, after death (for example at autopsy).
Previous investigation has shown that the year of death and its registration correspond for most part of the year. This makes cancer the second most common cause of death, exceeded only by cardiovascular diseases (32% of all deaths) (ABS 2012a).
More males (57%) than females (43%) died from cancer, with cancer accounting for 33% of all male deaths and 27% of all female deaths. The mortality rate of males (222 per 100,000) was significantly higher than that of females (138 per 100,000). Together these five cancers represented just under half (48%) of the total mortality from cancer, with lung cancer alone accounting for 1 in every 5 deaths due to cancer (19%).
Prostate cancer (3,235) and bowel cancer (2,205) were the second and third leading cause of cancer death in males, followed by pancreatic cancer (1,233) and cancer of unknown primary site (1,167). This was followed by breast cancer (2,840), bowel cancer (1,777), pancreatic cancer (1,201) and cancer of unknown primary site (1,113).
In 2010, 85% of all cancer deaths in males and 83% all cancer deaths in females occurred in people aged over 60. By the age of 85, the risk increased to 1 in 4 for males and 1 in 6 for females (Table 3.3) (see Appendix H for an explanation of how these risks were calculated).
In 2010, 42,844 Australians died from cancer, compared with 31,356 in 1991, an increase of 37%. The trend of cancer mortality in males was heavily influenced by declines in mortality rates for lung cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer, which accounted for most of the total decrease between 1994 and 2010. However, it is not always reasonable to expect that a single measure can accurately describe the trend over the entire period.

Between 1991 and 2010, it fell by 41% for males (from 34 to 20 per 100,000) and 45% for females (from 24 to 13 per 100,000).
Since then the rate tended to fall, with a much sharper decline occurring in the 1990s than in the 2000s. Improvements in general health and treatments for men may be other contributing factors leading to improved mortality rates (Baade et al.
After this time, there was an appreciable decline in the rate, from 31 per 100,000 in 1994 to 22 per 100,000 in 2010 — a fall of 30%.
It was highest for Southern Africa (133 per 100,000) and lowest for South Central Asia (100 per 100,000). In leukaemia your immature blood cells grow uncontrollably, but don't become properly mature.
To find out more read Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand's detailed information about ALL. To find out more, read Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand's detailed information about CLL.
It happens when immature red blood cells, platelets and two other types of blood cells start developing quickly. Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand has more general information about lymphomas, and more detailed information about Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Those who burn easily in the sun and people with red hair and freckles are particularly at risk of skin cancer. Patrick Ling of the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre in Queensland, extracted a compound called polysaccharopeptide (PSP) from the mushrooms and gave it to laboratory mice over a period of 20 weeks. Your Specialist at the Skin Centre will discuss what treatment options are available for the type of skin cancer you have and advise which treatment is best for you. Information on the underlying cause of death is derived from the medical certificate of cause of death, which is usually completed by a medical practitioner. However, deaths that occur at the end of the calendar year often do not get registered till the following year due to a lag in processing of deaths. Mortality from lung cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer accounted for the high cancer mortality in older men. By the age of 85, the risk of dying from lung cancer doubled to be 1 in 16 for males and 1 in 29 for females. The number of deaths recorded for 2010 was the largest number reported in any year to date. The mortality rate among females fell by 16% from 1993 (164 per 100,000) to 2010 (138 per 100,000) (Figure 3.2). Over the same period, mortality rate for females increased, and by 2010 the rate (24 per 100,000) was 17% higher than it was in 1991 (21 per 100,000). The reasons for the continued fall are not clear, but may be due to earlier detection of pre-cancerous polyps and improved treatment. By 2010, the mortality rate was 31 per 100,000, indicating an overall decrease of 30% between 1993 and 2010. The decline in recent decades is believed to be due to increased availability and quality of screening mammography and improved treatments (ACS 2009).
The rate for Australia was 103 per 100,000, which was slightly lower than the average world rate (106 per 100,000). Countries or regions are ordered in descending order according to the age-standardised rate. To find out more read Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand's detailed information about CML.
There does seem to be an increased instance of melanoma of people who have severe sunburn as a child. Therefore, the number of death registered for the most recent year (2010) is used as an estimate to account for these deaths. While the mortality rate for females was still lower than that for males in 2010, the gap has narrowed considerably over the last decades. Whether your skin is more sensitive as a child, we don't really know, but that does certainly seem to be the case. Additional information on mortality from 'all cancers combined' and the selected cancer sites is in online tables (see Appendix D) that are available on the AIHW website. We also know that you get 50 percent of your cumulative sun exposure by the time you are 18. So if you are brought up in New Zealand, you are going to have a lot more sun by the time you are 18 than if you were, say… were brought up in Scotland. UV light contributes to melanomas as we mentioned, but much more commonly in New Zealand we see basal cell skin cancers and squamous cell skin cancers, which are in a different layer of the skin from the melanoma, and those, to, are caused by sunlight, and of course with all the measures we have discussed, their instances can go down.
Recent studies have suggested that two out of three Caucasian New Zealanders can expect to get a non-melanoma skin cancer through their lives.
I think that most of the time, most people are taking reasonable care and taking heed of the messages that have been coming for the last 15 years.
It will be very interesting to see what happens to the incidence of melanoma over the next 20 or 30 years – it’s been increasing dramatically over the last 10, 15 years – but hopefully these public messages we've been sending out will start to reap rewards.